Southern (NYSE:SO) Now Covered by HSBC

Key Points

• HSBC initiated coverage of Southern with a “buy” rating and a $99.50 price target, implying approximately 10.06% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.24, based on eight Buy, nine Hold, and two Sell ratings.
• Southern’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with earnings per share of $1.13 versus the $1.01 consensus estimate, while institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Equities research analysts at HSBC began coverage on shares of Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $99.50 price target on the utilities provider's stock. HSBC's price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.06% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson set a $98.00 price target on Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.24.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $90.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $87.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.00. Southern has a twelve month low of $81.69 and a twelve month high of $99.58. The firm has a market cap of $104.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.31.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Southern by 4.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,380,592 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $808,895,000 after purchasing an additional 392,210 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Southern in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $737,256,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,681,674 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $543,793,000 after buying an additional 508,149 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Southern by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,231,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $311,895,000 after buying an additional 216,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in Southern by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,932,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $280,715,000 after buying an additional 54,111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an energy holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its subsidiaries, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, while also providing natural gas distribution and related energy services.

Southern's electric utility operations include Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power, which serve customers across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The company's generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and renewable energy resources.

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